On January 18, 2024, Belarus issued four stamps that imaginatively represent the Four Seasons. Shown here is a mini-sheet, one of the formats in which the stamps were sold. The images on each stamp are straw weavings representing one of the Four Seasons. They were created by the Belarusian artist Tamara Pawlowskaja.
Straw weavers of Belarus can draw on thousands of years of weaving tradition passed on by their ancestors. In the past it was interconnected in particular with nature worship and the cult of bread. A highpoint for straw weaving in Belarus was reached in the 17thand 18th centuries. However, in recent decades Belarusian Straw Weaving has experienced a resurgence. New weaving techniques have been developed, and the craft is considered fine art, but it continues to be largely based on folk traditions with emphasis on spiritual values.
Straw Weaving is a significant Belarusian folk art and in 2022, was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
I’ve been fascinated in recent years with how the Four Seasons have been presented in creative ways on the stamps of various countries. In a March 2019, post I looked at three very different approaches to depicting the Four Seasons by China, Germany and Liechtenstein. In September 2021, I posted “The Four Seasons in Antarctica!”, YES Antarctica, showing a heat-activated set of four stamps issued by the Ross Dependency which uses photographs taken during each of the seasons. And earlier this year I looked again at the Four Seasons imaginatively and artfully presented by the Faroe Islands.
The creativity of stamp designers and the countries they represent fascinate me as you can probably tell!
